FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Toph]

I saw the cheap shot you put on the Purples,Toph. Ouch.

If the jumpsuit fits, right?   

In all seriousness, anyone who has been around for awhile knows that I probably have attended more Mount games than JCU games in recent years, that I have an older brother who graduated from Mount (clearly he got the shallow end of the gene pool), and that my parents are long time Mount Union season ticket holders. 

I'm just happy that JCU is once again in the conversation.  When the team is floating around .500 every year, it doesn't make for much interesting talk on these boards.

My mantra remains the same.  Keep improving, keep winning, and the last few weeks are going to be a whole lot of fun.

[HScoach]

I saw the cheap shot you put on the Purples,Toph. Ouch.

If the jumpsuit fits, right?   

In all seriousness, anyone who has been around for awhile knows that I probably have attended more Mount games than JCU games in recent years, that I have an older brother who graduated from Mount (clearly he got the shallow end of the gene pool), and that my parents are long time Mount Union season ticket holders. 

I'm just happy that JCU is once again in the conversation.  When the team is floating around .500 every year, it doesn't make for much interesting talk on these boards.

My mantra remains the same.  Keep improving, keep winning, and the last few weeks are going to be a whole lot of fun.

I agree 100%.   For Mount, Heidi and JCU the playoffs start a few weeks early.   Going to be a lot of fun (I hope) to see how it plays out.   

[Dr. Acula]

My random stats unearthed during lunch today....

Cartel Brooks' 16 rushing TD's through 6 games already equals his total for 2012.  The Berg single season record of 22 is in the crosshairs.  His next TD also ties the career TD record of 40.  And Germany Woods' single season yardage mark of 1421 is as well.  I certainly see his numbers taking a hit when we hit November and the competition jumps, but he's positioned himself to have a great shot at the best season in Berg history. 

The Raider QB's are averaging 10.7 yards/carry.  This would be less impressive if they both weren't running enough to rank in the top 10 in the conference in yards.  I don't like that Burke is the leading rusher, but man, if he's going to average almost 9 yards a carry it's hard to complain.  To Burke's credit he does a GREAT job of avoiding hits.  Slides with the best of them.  Problem is that numerous times he's been drilled after he slides (often leading to a fired up Ric making his thoughts known on the quality of the officiating in our fine conference). 

[amonachino]

Did anyone notice that John Carroll had a little over 200yds of off. last Sat.  They also were 3 for 12 on 3rd down.  Not what I expected.

[HScoach]

Did anyone notice that John Carroll had a little over 200yds of off. last Sat.  They also were 3 for 12 on 3rd down.  Not what I expected.

Maybe a combination of crappy weather plus going against an under-rated Musky defense?   Maybe Musky is better than we gave them credit for a few weeks ago?   Hopefully that's the reason the Mount offense looked that way against Musky.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Did anyone notice that John Carroll had a little over 200yds of off. last Sat.  They also were 3 for 12 on 3rd down.  Not what I expected.

Maybe a combination of crappy weather plus going against an under-rated Musky defense?   Maybe Musky is better than we gave them credit for a few weeks ago?   Hopefully that's the reason the Mount offense looked that way against Musky.

Was going to say the same thing. Muskingum is not a good team but their defense isn't bad. Also, despite the low yardage output, JCU was ahead 41-9 by mid 3rd quarter and pretty much shut down the offense at that point. That performance might not win against Heidelberg or Mount Union, but I'd venture the guess that Mount fans watched their own performance against Musky and thought "that won't get it done against a better team."

Every team has an off game now & then. Good teams win when they don't play well. Looked at another way, you can say that Carroll played poorly last weekend and still won by 30 points.

[Raider 68]

With 4 games left, which team, Mount Union, Heidelberg, John Carroll has the toughest tests, given
the time of year (weather), home or away games?

Here are my thoughts:


John Carroll -  they play, ONU, Wilmington, Heidelberg, Mount Union, with 3 of 4 games away.

Heidelberg- they play, Muskingum, Mount Union, John Carroll, B-W, with 3 of 4 games away.

Mount Union- they play, Otterbein, Heidelberg, B-W, John Carroll, with 3 of 4 games at home.

We know that ONU is playing coming off a big win. Muskingum is reasonably competitive and Otterbein
played Heidelberg tough last week until the 4 th Quarter.

So who has the toughest road till 11-16-13;

Heidelberg
John Carroll
Mount Union

[mr_mom]

Spreads for Week # 8 are posted.

As promised, I added a couple games to give folks a chance at catching Grizz.  [altho I think he does better out of conference than within]

And please don't be mad at me, but I broke one of my own rules and included two games from one conference.  WIAC ... teams looking for their first loss, teams looking for their first win.

Enjoy!

[edward de vere]

Questions, we have questions.

1)  If the WIAC and the OAC finish with three one-loss teams, they'll fill four of the five Pool C spots, right?  RIGHT?

2)  What is now the consensus of opinion on Germany Woods?

3)  Is the offensive line improving in more than a very minor way?

4)  Did Hank Spencer get hurt in the last game, and, if so, what is his condition now?

5)  Why didn't Bradley "11.0" Mitchell carry the ball in the last game?  Was he hurt, and, if so, what is his condition now?

6)  What are the strong points and weak points of Taurice Scott's passing game?

[wally_wabash]

1)  If the WIAC and the OAC finish with three one-loss teams, they'll fill four of the five Pool C spots, right?  RIGHT?

It really depends on who those non-AQ teams are and where they wind up slotted in the regional rankings, but my guess is that no, four of the at-large bids are not going to be split between the WIAC and OAC runners up.  Not unless a bunch of other teams lose twice...like PLU, St. Johns/Concordia-Moorhead, SJF, North Central/Wheaton/IWU.  Lots of quality teams with good résumés still out there. 

[Toph]

With 4 games left, which team, Mount Union, Heidelberg, John Carroll has the toughest tests, given
the time of year (weather), home or away games?

I don't think anyone has a particularly easy road.  I also don't think you could write a better script for the end of the season.  The best part about this is that everyone controls their own destiny.  Win and you're in. 

I think you could make the case for each of them having the toughest road, but I'll say Heidelberg if only for this reason.  They have Mount Union first.  Even though some Berg fans who are no longer with us might disagree, playing Mount first means they are much more likely to be heading to U Heights with one loss than JCU.  And should they drop two in a row, they'll need some help, I think. 

It appears to me that JCU's schedule sets up better than Berg's, in part because I don't think Mount Union is going to lose a game this season.  So I see Carroll having an easier time going 9-1 than Heidelberg.

[pradierguy]

If the following games were THIS Saturday, what would the spreads be? Just curious what everyone thinks.

- Mount Union vs. JCU
- Mount Union vs. Berg
- Berg vs. JCU

[reality check]

If the following games were THIS Saturday, what would the spreads be? Just curious what everyone thinks.

- Mount Union vs. JCU
- Mount Union vs. Berg
- Berg vs. JCU

- Mount Union vs. JCU (+12.5)
- Mount Union vs. Berg (-10.5)
- Berg vs. JCU (-3.5)

I'm sure there's some shock but let me explain.  Mount plays JCU and has to be the favorite right?  I think they win that game.  But it would be very hard for Mount to then play four more quarters against a fresh Heidelberg team.  So I favor Heidelberg in game two.  Now game three is tough to call because both teams just played earlier.  Since JCU had some time to rest, I give them the slight edge. 

I guess this is playing all three games THIS Saturday would be silly as the question suggests.     

[pradierguy]

If the following games were THIS Saturday, what would the spreads be? Just curious what everyone thinks.

- Mount Union vs. JCU
- Mount Union vs. Berg
- Berg vs. JCU

- Mount Union vs. JCU (+12.5)
- Mount Union vs. Berg (-10.5)
- Berg vs. JCU (-3.5)

I'm sure there's some shock but let me explain.  Mount plays JCU and has to be the favorite right?  I think they win that game.  But it would be very hard for Mount to then play four more quarters against a fresh Heidelberg team.  So I favor Heidelberg in game two.  Now game three is tough to call because both teams just played earlier.  Since JCU had some time to rest, I give them the slight edge. 

I guess this is playing all three games THIS Saturday would be silly as the question suggests.     

Ha! +k. Guess I should have worded it a bit better.

[ExTartanPlayer]

If the following games were THIS Saturday, what would the spreads be? Just curious what everyone thinks.

- Mount Union vs. JCU
- Mount Union vs. Berg
- Berg vs. JCU

Answering the question seriously, I think I'd make JCU a slight favorite of Heidelberg because I think the John Carroll defense is playing better than Berg's defense.  Heidelberg can score, but John Carroll's defense has totally shut down everyone they've played, and they've played some of the better mid-pack OAC teams in Otterbein and Baldwin-Wallace (plus a pretty good OOC opponent in St. Norbert).  While Cartel Brooks is just bonkers, I think the Streaks will be able to slow down the Berg offense.  Not stop it, but slow it down.  Meanwhile, Heidelberg is giving up some yards and points against lesser opponents & I think they'll give up 28+ points to JCU.